Latch assembly



Jan. 14, 1941.1- "1. o'. scHRADER I LATCH ASSEMBLY Filed 001;. 28, 193B2 Sheets-Sinaai. 1

Illhll//l 777027745 0. Jabra/der Jan. 14, 1941. T, o, SCHRADER 2,228,979

LATCH ASSEMBLY Filed oct. 2s. 19:58 a shuts-snee; :ey

Patented Jan. ld, i941 UNITE STAT arras-i9 PATENT @FFME LATCH ASSEMBLYapplication october es, ieee, sesamo. 237,555

16 Claims.

rlthis invention relates to closure fasteners and is more particularlyconcerned with latch assemblies and operatingmechanisms for closuremembers.

The latches of the present invention have been designed especially foruse on bulky closure members, such as refrigerator doors, although itwill be understood that the invention is equally applicable to any typeof closure member.

Large commercial refrigerators, such as those used in grocery stores,are usually provided with a plurality of doors at upper and lowerlevels. These doors are ordinarily provided with pivoted latch operatinghandles which are grasped and pulled outwardly by the operator when itis desired to open the doors.

In order to render these handles readily accessible to the operator, thehandles of the top doors usually extend downwardly from their pivots onthe doors while the handles on the lower doors are usually arranged toextend upwardly from their pivots on the door.

Furthermore, in order to render groups of handles readily accessible toan operator from one standing position, adjacent doors are hinged toswing in opposite directions so that their latches are adjacent when thedoors are closed.

Heretofore, it has been a common practice to manufacture separate latchmechanisms for doors which swing in opposite directions and for doors atdifferent levels wherein the position of the latch handles are reversed.This has been necessary, of course, because for example the ordinarylatch designed for a doorA swinging to the left -could not be used upona door which swings to the right.

As a result of this situation, latch manufacturers are compelled to makelatch constructions in several classifications according to their useand refrigerator builders have been compelled to carry a complete stool;of all these diiferent latch classifications.

With the above situation in mind it is a major object of my invention toprovide a novel reversible latch assembly for swingable closure membersor the like which is universally applicable to these closure membersregardless of how the latter are swingably mounted and regardless of theposition of the handles. More specifically, my improved latch assemblycan be mounted upon any door or the like whether it swings tothe rightor left, or up or down, or whether it is desired to arrange the handlesto extend upwardly or downwardly from their pivots, or in any otherdirections.

A further object oi my invention is to provide a novel association of alatch mechanism and a handle mechanism for operating the same whereinthe two are so mounted upon the closure member that either may beremoved for repair or 5 replacement without removing the other.Speciiically the latch bolt operating mechanism is substantiallyentirely enclosed in a housing which is insertible into the door as aunit while the handle mechanism is also a saparate unit secured 10 tothe door and provided with a projecting cam arm for contacting andoperating the latch mechanism.

A further object of my invention is to provide a novel association of alatch mechanism and a 15 handle mechanism for operating the same whichmay be cooperatively associated upon a swingable closure memberregardless of the direction of swinging Vof said closure member andregardless of the direction in which it is desired that the 2D handlewill extend.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel latch mechanismwhich can be mounted adjacent an edge wall of a swingable closureregardless of the direction of swinging of said clo- 25 sure member.Specifically my novel latch mechanism is provided with a pair oiindependently operable latch bolt operating arms, at least one of whichis available for actuation by the handle mechanism whatever the positionof the latch 30` mechanism.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel latch boltoperating mechanism wherein a simplied lever arrangement is actuated tomove the latch bolt. Specifically a pair of these 3 5 lever arrangementsproviding alternative control for the latch bolt are included in thelatch mechanism so that the latter may be universally and reversiblymountable on any closure member.

It is a further object of the invention to pro- 40 vide a novel latchoperating handle mechanism having cam means engaging the latch mechanismwherein relatively small movement of the handle eects complete travel ofthe latch bolt. Specically this cam means may comprise an elongated 45curved lever rigid with the handle and arranged with its free endsubstantially contacting an opera-ting arm of the latch mechanism withinthe closure member.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel adjustablekeeper mechanism for cooperation with doors of different thicknesses andgasket size.

Further objects of the invention will presently appear as thedescription proceeds in connection with the appended claims and theannexed drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a latch assembly of the invention withthe cover of the latch mechanism removed and the parts arranged with thelatch handle upon the front wall of the door and hanging downwardvertically as it would at the upper doors of a commercial refrigerator,and with the door arranged to swing about a vertical axis to the left ofFigure 1.

Figure 2 is an end view of the latch mechanism of Figure 1, looking fromleft to right therein, illustrating the dual latch bolt operating armsand the relation of the handle operated cam lever thereto.

Figure 3 is a side elevation, partly of the novel handle mechanism.

Figure 4 is a section taken generally along line 4-4 in Figure 1illustrating the latch bolt arrangement with the cover on the latchmechanism and illustrating further association of a latch operating armwith the handle operated cam lever.

Figure 5 is a side elevation of the cover for the latch mechanism.

Figure 6 is an end view of the cover of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is an end elevation of an adjustable keeper mechanism of theinvention.

Figure 8 is a side elevation of the latch assembly of Figure l arrangedupon a door mounted to swing about a vertical axis to the right ofFigure 8 and with the pivoted handle at the front wall of the doorextending downwardly.

Figure 9 is a side elevation of the latch assembly of Figure 1 arrangedupon adoor mounted to swing about a vertical axis to the right of Figure9 and with the pivoted handle at the front wall of in section,

the door extending upwardly as it would at the4 lower doors of acommercial refrigerator.

Figure 10 is a side elevation of a modified form of latch mechanism,with the cover oi, adapted for use on doors where the frame width isrelatively small.

Figure 11 is a section taken along line I I--I I of Figure 10illustrating the latch bolt arrangements.

Referring to Figure 1, a closure member or door I2 is provided at avertical frame wall member I3 with a suitable recess for receiving ahousing I4 containing a latch mechanism. Housing I4 is tted into theframe member in such a manner that its outer end wall I5 tssubstantially flush with the adjacent surface of member I3.

Housing I4 comprises end wall I5, a side wall I6, parallel top andbottom walls I1 and I8 respectively, an inner end wall I9 parallel towall I5 and a pair of inclined walls 2I and 22 extending from oppositeends of wall I9 to adjacent ends of walls I1 and I8, respectively. WallsI5-I9, 2I and 22 are rigid with each other to form the generally cupshaped housing I4 and preferably housing I4 is a single casting.

The open side of housing I4 is enclosed by a suitably shaped cover 23,illustrated in Figures 5 and 6. A threaded post 24 upstanding from wallI6 is adapted to receive the end of a screw 25 which passes through asuitable aperture 26 in cover 23 to fasten the cover to the housing.

With cover 23 in place, housing I4 is secured to frame member I3 byscrews 21 which extend through suitable apertures in oppositelyprojecting extensions of wall I5.

The inner portion of housing I4 projects beyond frame member I3 into ahollow portion of the door where it is cooperatively associated with ahandle mechanism actuated from the front wall of the door as will bedescribed.

Inside housing I4, a latch bolt 28, having an enlarged head portion 29extending through an vaperture 3I in wall I5, is slidably mounted. The

rear portion of bolt 28 extends through a suitable aperture insupporting wall I9 and a coiled compression spring 32 which surroundsbolt 28 and extends between wall I9 and the inner surface of head-29urges the latch bolt toward the right in Figure 1.

One side edge of head 29 is provided with a projection 33 which fitswithin an aligning guide recess 34 formed in wall I6. The opposite sideof head 29 fits within a similar guide recess 35 formed in cover 23.Guide recesses 34 and 35 and the bolt receiving apertures in walls I5and I9 cooperate to insure movement of the latch bolt in a pathgenerally normal to the edge of the door. Cover 23 is provided at itsfront edge with a projection 39 which fits within the walls of aperture3| when the cover is in place upon the housing so as to promote speedyassembly of the latch mechanism.

That portion of head 29 which extends outside housing I4 has an inclinedsurface and is of conventional shape for cooperating with a suitablekeeper and need not be further described.

Within housing I4, head 29 is provided with a pair of oppositelyextending projections 36 and 31. A pair of double armed levers or pawls38 and 39 are loosely mounted upon suitable pivot posts 4i and 42respectively upstanding from wall I6 at opposite sides of the latchbolt. Posts 4I and 42 as well as post 24 are preferably cast integralwith housing I4.

Lever 38 is formed with a downwardly extending curved arm 43 which tsinto the space between projection 36 and the inner surface of wall I5.Lever 39 is provided with a similar upwardly extending curved arm 44which ts into the spacbetween projection 31 and the inner surface ofwall I5. The force exerted by spring 32 upon head 29 tends to maintainprojections 36 and 31 in firm contact with lever arms 43 and 44,respectively.

Arms 43 and 44 may cooperate with Wall I5 to serve as stops limitingoutward movement of bolt 28, and wall I5 may serve as an abutment forrestricting rotation of levers 38 and 39 in a counterclockwise andclockwise directions respectively about their pivot axes.

Levers 38 and 39 extend rearwardly through suitably enlarged apertures45 and 46 in walls 2I and 22 respectively and terminate well beyond wallI9 as shown in Figure I. When door I2 is closed, as illustrated inFigure l, levers 38 and 39 extend practically parallel to each other andto the bolt 28. Apertures 45 and 46 are of sufficient size to enablepivotal movement of levers 38 and 39 during actuation of the latch boltand the adjacent edges of these apertures may cooperate with wall I5 toserve as stops restricting rotation of the levers.

Referring to Figures 1, 2 and 3, an escutcheon plate 41 of any suitableshape or design is secured to a front frame member 50 of door I2 byscrews 48 or similar fastening means. Plate 41 is provided with anapertuied portion adjacent one end through which extends a generallyhorizontal pivot pin 49 upon which is mounted a handle member 5I havinga downwardly projecting grip portion 52 exteriorly of the door andextending generally parallel to the front surface thereof.

An elongated, downwardly curved cam lever 53,

rigid with member 5l, extends through a suitable aperture in framemember M into the hollow interior of the door. Preferably members 5l, 52and 53 are formed as an` integral piece.

Handle member 5l is urged in a counterclockwise direction in Figure 3 bythe action of a suitable spring 5d which is coiled about pin 1&9 atopposite sides of member 5l and whose opposite ends bear against theunder side of lever 53 and a rigid rib 55 integral with plate 4i.Suitable shoulders formed on opposite sides of member 5|, form springpockets about the pivot pin. Any suitable resilient means can be used inplace or spring iili for the same purpose.

With the handle grip 52 in the released position and the door closed asshown in Figure l, the lower inner end of cam lever 5? rests insubstantial contact with the top surface of the latch bolt operating arm3Q. It is not necessary that lever tit actually be in Contact with arm39 although this arrangement is preferable for speedy and satisfactoryoperation. In this position the door is held closed by engagement oflatch bolt head 29 with a suitable keeper on the doorway frame. i

In` order to open the door, grip 52 is pulled outwardly away from thedoor thereby rotating handle member iii in a clockwise: direction aboutits pivot llt, and the displaced lower end oi' cam lever t3 whichengages the upper surface ci lever itil causes lever (it to be rotatedin a counterclockwise direction in Figure 1.` As lever It@ rotates inthis direction, arm iii cooperates with projection :il to slide latchbolt 2li to the left against the action of spring 32, therebywithdrawing head 29 from the keeper.

When head 29 clears the Keeper, continued outward pull on the handlegrip 'i2l will result in opening of the door.

It will be observed that the upper lever it is absolutely inoperableupon the latch belt in this arrangement and the above described actiontakes place just as though lever 3B were not present.

Therefore, it is obvious that the simplified lever structure of theinvention can be applied to irreversible as well as reversible latches.

When handle grip 52 is released, spring lid forces the cam lever 53upwardly with respect to the lever 39 and permits spring 32 to restorethe latch mechanism to the position shown in Figure 1.

When the door is being closed spring 32 permits retraction of the latchbolt until head 29 has cleared the keeper and then forces the bolt tothe right into the keeper pocket in the position shown in Figure 1. Nomanipulation of the grip handle is necessary to effect closure of thedoor. l

An adjustable keeper which has been found to be oi great value for usewith doors of different thicknesses or doors which have different gasketthicknesses along their edges is. illustrated in Figure 7. A base plate'.56 is formed with a central recess 5l flanked at the top and bottom bytwo rows of serrations 58,

The top plate '.59 is formed with a central aperture (il which is alsoflanked at the top and bottom by two rows of serrations t2 which areadapted to interfit with serrations 53 on the base plate with aperture6l disposed above recess 5l'. Plate b9 is also formed at its front edgewith a latch bolt head engaging p-rojection Plate 5s is provided with apair ci elongated slots til aligned with suitable apertures in thebottom plate so that plate 59 may be secured in any laterally adjustedposition along plate 56 as desired and both plates secured to thedoorway by screws passing through slots 64 and apertures t5 into thedoorway frame.

In Figure 8 the latch assembly of Figure 1 is illustrated as mountedupon a door which swings in the opposite direction from that of Figurel. In such an arrangement the latch is reversed and lever 39 cannot beoperated by the handle hanging downwardly from its pivot. However, thelatch mechanism is now operable by the engagement of cam lever 53 withthe duplicate latch operating lever 3B and manipulation of handle grip52 will produce the same operation as above described in Figure 1 exceptthat here the motion is transmitted to the latch bolt through lever armllt and projection te.

In Figure 9 the latch assembly of Figure l is applied to a low doorwhich swings in the same direction as that of Figure 8. In thisarrangement the handle grip 5l is reversed and extends upwardly, and thecam lever 53 engages the operating arm t9.

The latch mechanism illustrated in Figures 10 and 11 is designed for useon doors where the frame walls are narrow and where there is notsufcient room to insert the construction illustrated in Figure 1.

In general this mechanism. is mounted upon a housing titi quite similarto housing lil in shape but compressed laterally asl shown in Figure 10.Housing 'til-i is provided with a suitable cover lli as illustrated inFigure l1.

Latch bolt l'l comprises a block having a channel iii? therein whichhouses a spring G9 whose rear end abuts against the rear wall 'il of thehousing. Bolt (il is formed with a pair of integral ears iii and ltwhich are urged by spring 69 into Contact with a pair of double armedlevers lll and l5, respectively in the same manner as the constructionabove described in Figure l.

Levers lli and l5 are appreciably shorter than levers 33 and t@ ofFigure l and preferably terminate in substantial vertical alignment withwall `ll. Sui'hcient space is provided, however, between the inclinedwalls 7b and 'Il of the housing and those levers to permit insertion ofthe lower end of cam lever 53 oi the handle assembly so that the latchmechanism of Figures 10 and il is operable by the handle mechanism ofFigure 3 in exactly the same manner as above described.

The latch mechanism of Figures 10 and l1 is also reversible in the samemanner as that of Figure l and is' capable of associating with thehandle ci Figure 3 in any of its reversed positions.

Advantages The present invention provides an aseinbly comprising a latchmechanism unit and a handle unit for operating the same which can beapplied to closure members such as refrigerator doors whether they areadapted to swing to the right or left or in any direction.

Furthermore, the same construction may be used on lower as well as upperdoors where it is desirable to use reversed handles.

The latch mechanism unit and the handle mechanism unit are entirelyseparate mechanically and either may be removed from the door forreplacement or repair without removing the other.

Provision of the long curved cam lever on the handle mechanism enablesonly a slight movement of the handle by an operator to be translatedinto an appreciable displacement of the latch mechanism levers so as toeiect speedy and positive retraction of the latch bolt. This novel boltactuation is applicable to any type of latch as Well as the reversiblelatch illustrated in the drawings.

The reversible latch assembly of the present invention makes itunnecessary to manufacture or keep in stock different latch mechanismand handle units for diierent door arrangements and affords a decidedeconomy over prior art arrangements as well as a simplication ofmanufacturing methods.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presen.rembodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrativeand not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by theappended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and allchanges which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of theclaims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States LettersPatent is:

l. A latch assembly for a closure member cornprising a movable latchbolt, resilient means for urging said bolt in one direction, a pair ofindependently actuatable means each adapted to be operatively connectedto said latch bolt, each of said independently actuatable means beingoperable to move said bolt against the action of said resilient means, areversible handle and a latch operating lever rigid with said handleoperatively associated with only one of said last named means.

2. A latch assembly for a closureV member corn- -prising a movable latchbolt, resilient means for actuatable to move said bolt against theaction of said resilient means, a reversible handle4 and a latchoperating lever rigid with said handle adapted to extend into the spacebetween the arms and operatively engage only one of said arms.

3. A latch assembly for use on closure members comprising a housing, alatch bolt slidably mounted in said housing and extending through anaperture in a wall of said housing, resilient means for urging said boltin one direction to- Ward said aperture and a pair of latch boltoperating arms arranged at opposite sides of said bolt each separatelyand operatively associated with said latch bolt in such a manner thatactuation of either of said arms can move said latch bolt against theaction of Said resilient means.

4. A latch assembly comprising a housing, a latch bolt mounted forslidable movement within said housing and extending through an aperturein a Wall of said housing, a projection on said latch bolt, an operatinglever pivoted Within said housing having one arm associated with saidprojection and another arm extending exteriorly of said housing andspring means for urging said bolt in one direction toward said apertureand said projection into contact with said one arm of said lever.

5. A latch assembly comprising a housing, a latch bolt mounted forslidable movement Within 'sald housing and extending through an aperturein a Wall of said housing, a pair of projections on said latch bolt, apair of operating levers pivotally mounted within said housing eachhaving one arm associated with a projection on said bolt and another armprojecting exteriorly of said housing and spring means for urging saidbolt in one direction toward said aperture and said projections intocontact with the respective rst named arms of said levers.

6. In the latch assembly of claim 5, said projections being disposed onopposite sides of said bolt and said other arms of said levers extendinggenerally parallel to the path of movement of said bolt.

7. In a latch assembly wherein the latch bolt operating mechanism isenclosed within a housing so as to be readily mountable and removablewith respect to a closure or the like, a pair of individual operatingmembers extending exteriorly of said housing, each of said members beingoperable to actuate said latch bolt operating mechanism.

8. In a latch assembly of the type wherein the latch bolt operatingmechanism is enclosed in a housing which is seated in a recess in oneedge wall of a closure member, a pair of latch bolt operating armsextending exteriorly of said housing and interiorly of said closuremember, a handle assembly secured to the front wall of said closuremember and a movable operating lever extending from said handle assemblyinto contact with one of said latch bolt operating arms.

9. A latch actuating mechanism for use on a closure member or the likecomprising an escutcheon plate adapted to be secured to said closuremember, a manually operable handle pivoted to said escutcheon plate andan elongated latch operating cam lever rigid with said handle andextending inwardly of said closure member, said latch operating leverbeing curved slightly in the plane of the path of its movement.

10. A latch mechanism comprising a slidable latch bolt and a housingenclosing mechanism for operating said bolt, a recess in said bolt and aspring seated in said recess, the other end of said spring abuttingagainst a wall of said housing, and a pivoted operating arm adapted tobe operatively connected to Said bolt and extending exteriorly of saidhousing.

11. A latch assembly for use on closure members comprising a housing, alatch bolt slidably mounted in said housing and extending through anaperture in a Wall of said housing, resilient means for urging said boltin one direction toward said aperture, and a pair of latch boltoperating arms each separately and operatively associated with saidlatch bolt in such a manner that actuation of either of said arms canmove said latch bolt against the action of said resilient means, each ofsaid latch bolt operating arms being pivotally mounted upon said housingand extending exteriorly of said housing.

12. A latch assembly for use on closure members comprising a housinghaving a front Wall and a side wall, a latch bolt slidably mounted insaid housing and extending through an aperture in said front Wall,resilient means for urging said bolt toward said aperture, a pair ofpivot posts rigid with said side Wall arranged at opposite sides of saidslidable bolt and a pair of latch bolt operating arms mounted on saidposts, each arm being separately and operatively associated With saidlatch bolt in such a manner that either of said arms can move said boltagainst the action of said resilient means.

13. A latch assembly comprising a housing having a front wall, areciprocable latch bolt within said housing and extending through anaperture in said Wall, a projection on said bolt, a latch operatinglever pivotally mounted within said housing, an arm rigid with saidlever inter-- posed between said projection and said front Wall andresilient means urging said bolt toward said aperture so that saidprojection is maintained in contact with said arm and said arm serves asa stop for limiting movement of said bolt through said aperture.

14. A latch assembly comprising a reciprocable latch bolt, a pair oflatch bolt operating levers extending substantially parallel to the pathof reciprocation of said bolt and to each other at opposite lateralsides of said bolt pivotally mounted for movement in planes generallyparallel t0 the plane in which Said bolt is reciprocable, rigidprojections extending from opposite lateral sides of said bolt, and armsrigid With said operating levers adapted to operatively engage saidprojeotions.

15. In a latch assembly for a closure member or the like, a reciprocablelatch bolt, operating arms pivoted at opposite sides of said bolt forindependent actuation of said bolt, said arms extending generallyparallel to each other in 5 spaced relation, a reversible handlepivotally mounted upon said closure and an operating lever rigid withsaid handle extending into the space between said arms so as tooperatively engage one of said arms when the handle is actuated. 1 16.In combination for use on a closure member, a reversible latch mechanismand a separate and distinct reversible handle mechanism, a cam lever insaid handle mechanism extending into operative engagement With saidlatch mechanism l and of such design that each of said mechanisms isoperatively associated with the other in all positions of either, andeach of said mechanisms being readily removable from` said closuremember Without at least partly removing the other. 20

THOMAS O. SCHRADER.

